Literary+Elements+and+the+Short+Story

Topic
toc
 * Literary Elements and the Short Story **

ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS:
 * How do writers use literary techniques to convey their message?
 * How do short stories explore the multicultural and historical perspectives of our human experience?

Common Core Standards

 * RL.9-10.1**.Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
 * RL.9-10.5**.Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks) create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise.
 * W.9-10.2**.Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the effective selection, organization, and analysis of content. Introduce a topic; organize complex ideas, concepts, and information to make important connections and distinctions; include formatting (e.g., headings), graphics (e.g., figures, tables), and multimedia when useful to aiding comprehension.
 * L.9-10.1**.Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.
 * L.9-10.5**.Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Suggested Student Objectives

 * Identify and explain plot structure (exposition, rising action, crisis/climax, falling action, resolution/denouement) in short stories
 * Understand and explain why plots in short stories usually focus on a single event
 * Analyze how authors create setting in a short story
 * Define the concept of theme and identify the theme(s) in stories read
 * identify and explain characterization techniques in short stories
 * Identify and explain the use of figurative language in short stories
 * analyze how authors use tone in short stories
 * Identify the point of view in a short story and analyze how point of view affects the reader's interpretation of the story
 * Write a coherent essay of literary analysis with a clear thesis statement, at least three pieces of evidence from texts, and a strong introduction and conclusion.

Suggested Additional Readings

 * Plot Structure/ Single Event**
 * "The Most Dangerous Game" (Richard Connell)
 * "The Necklace" (Guy de Maupassant)
 * "The Adventure of the Speckled Band" (Arthur Conan Doyle)
 * " The Lady, or the Tiger?" (Frank R. Stockton)
 * "The Open Window" (Saki)
 * Setting/Tone**
 * "Cask of Amontillado" (Edgar Allan Poe)
 * "The Most Dangerous Game" (Richard Connell)
 * "All Summer in a Day" (Ray Bradbury)
 * " The Monkey's Paw" ( W.W. Jacobs)
 * "The Masque of the Red Death" (Edgar Allan Poe)
 * "The Lottery" (Shirley Jackson)
 * "Every Little Hurricane" (Sherman Alexie)
 * Theme**
 * "The Scarlet Ibis" (James Hurst)
 * "The Stolen Party" (Liliana Heker)
 * "The Gift of the Magi" (O. Henry)
 * "Marigolds" (Eugenia Collier)
 * "The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber" (Ernest Hemingway)
 * Characterization**
 * "Cask of Amontillado" (Edgar Allan Poe)
 * "Everyday Use" (Alice Walker)
 * "The Wife's Tale" (Ursula Leguin)
 * "Harrison Bergeron" (Kurt Vonnegut)
 * "The Wife of his Youth" (Charles Chestnut)
 * Figurative Language**
 * "The Utterly Perfect Murder" (Ray Bradbury)
 * "The Story of an Hour" (Kate Chopin)
 * Point of View**
 * Excerpts from __House on Mango Street__ (Sandra Cisneros**)**
 * "Eleven" (Sandra Cisneros)
 * "Little Things" (Raymond Carver)
 * "The Euphio Question" (Kurt Vonnegut)
 * "The Sniper" (Liam O' Flaherty)

Michelangelo, //The Creation of Adam//, Sistine Chapel (c. 1511) Sultan Muhammad, //From a Khamsa of Nizamia// (1539-1543) Jacob Lawrence, //On the Way// (1990) Emanuel Leutze, //Washington Crossing the Delaware// (1851) Pablo Picasso, //Young Acrobat on a Ball// (1905) Tina Barney, //Marina's Room// (1987) Roy DeCarava, //Untitled// (1950) Diego Rivera, //Two Figures// (1925) Kehinde Wiley, //Black Light Series// (2009)
 * Suggested Additional Resources (visual art)**

Resource Links
//Found on Engageny.org//      //These resources are referenced throughout the activities section of this unit. //

"The Wife's Tale" Kehinde Wiley Short Story Analyses on Shmoop

Activities
How do artists create narratives? What similarities do we see between artistic techniques and literary techniques? Identify and understand parts of speech, specifically verb usage, irregular verbs, verb tense, subject/verb agreement, capitalization of common/proper nouns.
 * Activity 1: Art/Class Discussion **
 * Select two works of art to view as a class. Compare the two works, focusing the discussion on the relationship between character, symbolism and setting, and on how the artists combined these to suggest a narrative. Compare/contrast with short stories we have read, and discuss similarities/differences in technique and purpose.
 * Activity 2: Grammar/Usage **
 * Select a passage from a short story and identify all the verbs and their tenses.
 * Look at a photograph/painting assigned. Divide a blank piece of paper into quadrants (person, place, thing, idea) and identify/list nouns by category, noting whether they are abstract/concrete nouns.
 * Activity 3: Informative/Explanatory Writing and Depiction of plot structure/setting/characterization/tone using "The Tell-Tale Heart" **
 * Students read and identify parts of plot structure (drawing a dramatic structure diagram and identifying portions)
 * Students identify details that explain setting (students draw a picture of the old man's bedroom)
 * Define "Characterization", indirect and direct. Students identify both types of characteristics for narrator and old man ("I" chart for each)
 * Discuss the "slow motion" depiction of the murder in Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" and consider how Poe's craft affects the relationship between the narrator and his victim. Students will diagram steps to murder, and compare story to a horror movie's plot elements.
 * Define "tone". Large group discussion on how all these elements contribute to tone.
 * Activity 4: Writing/Seminar question: evidence for argument **
 * Read and discuss the role of characterization in "Cask of Amontillado". Discuss, in small group setting: Is Montresor a reliable narrator? Cite three pieces of evidence to support your argument. Answer question on class blog. Points are awarded based on support of argument.
 * Read and identify figurative language in "Utterly Perfect Murder". In a paragraph, identify example of figurative language and explain its purpose in story.

Assessments
Post Unit Assessment

1) Select a short story and an artwork and write an essay in which you discuss the use of symbolism in each. State your thesis clearly and include at least three pieces of evidence to support it.

2) Close-Reading: Identify literary element used in a passage and analyze how it plays a part in the passage.
 * Digital extension: create a digital slide presentation in which you set up a visual comparison between the two works.

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